<p>Our interest in this thesis is based on the discussion we had in previous courses about the development of emerging countries. Since two of the writers of this thesis are from Poland we tried to found a common interest, hence the relationship between the Polish subcontractors and Swedish customer is analyzed.</p><p>Poland is also known as a low cost country and that make it favorable when it comes about hiring subcontractors. The subcontractors in Poland are also known for the skills and expertise to produce quality. Something that is important for many foreign companies. IKEA has more than 40 subcontractors in Poland; the reason is just the factors mentioned above, to be able to produce good quality to low cost. (www.ikea.com)</p><p>Earlier research indicate that Poland is developing rapidly compare to other emergent countries in Eastern Europe. There have been and will be changes in the environment that most likely will affect the competitive advantage that the subcontractors are the leader in. In other words these changes might lead to that Poland loses its customers which choose other markets that still are able produce at lower costs.</p><p>The main problem for the thesis is to investigate how can polish subcontractors cope with environmental changes to sustain competitive advantage?</p><p>In order to answer this, we used a qualitative approach where the characteristics of a case study are conducted. We collected and analyzed data in an abductive way. The interviews with the three Polish subcontractors were made in a semi structure form via telephone. To be able to solve the above problem an environmental analysis of Poland was done, in order to found those factors that are mentioned as worries and are likely to change in the future. The changes are presented from subcontractors’ perspective and recommendation how to cope with them is given.</p>

This thesis aims identifying the sources of competitive advantage of the Turkish clothing and cement industries with respect to the European Union following the methodology of the Diamond Framework, introduced by Porter (1990), which is based on the theory of competitive advantage. The methodology is modified in order to include the effects of Turkey&#039 / s integration process to the European Union on the industries. Using this methodology, this study assesses the sources of competitive advantage of the Turkish clothing and cement industries by evaluating the industries&#039 / factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, firms structure, strategy and rivalry and the role of the government and European integration process. The main idea of this study is that both industries take their advantage form basic factor conditions. While the role of Turkey&#039 / s integration process to the EU is more effective on the clothing industry, it stays limited on the cement industry.

Background: The retail industry is highly affected by the changes in the world. With the disruptive force of digitalization, more and more of the transactions within retail is moved online as the e- commerce has expanded making the retail industry more competitive. This change has and is forcing many offline retailers to close business around the world but in this change, has new trends emerged. Both online and offline retailers are starting to see the value of having physical stores as well as having an online presence. Doing so creates opportunities for both e-commerce companies and physical retail stores to create value using multiple channels. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out how an independent fashion brick and mortar store can create value for consumers through multiple channels to gain a competitive advantage against pure online retailers and larger retail companies. Method: This topic will be studied with a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with customers in demographic 18-30 years old with the goal of understanding how customers purchase clothes in different channels to create insights for independent brick and mortar stores. The data were analyzed with the seven steps of Grounded Theory. Conclusion: The results of the research show that independent brick and mortar store have competitive advantages regarding personal service, products, and product assessment. However, many customers want to search for information and inspiration about products online before they shop, even if the actual purchase is made in a store which means that independent brick and mortar stores need to have their products online for that. It was also found that customers want more flexibility between channels. For example, purchase online and pick-up in store. The authors believe that with this changes, independent brick and mortar stores can compete in the 21st century while still maintaining their current advantages.

Bilinguals have been posited to have, compared to monolinguals, enhanced cognitive control, consequently exhibiting greater cognitive reserve, which is thought to subsequently delay the onset of clinical expression of dementia. Based on recent evidence suggesting that the more languages one manages the greater cognitive reserve, and that trilinguals undergo greater exercise in language control than bilinguals, this thesis investigated the effects of trilingualism and ageing on cognitive control, in young adults to older adults. As the thesis investigated the novel field of trilingualism and cognitive control, task complexity, the age of second and third language acquisition, language use, and physical and cognitive activity were also, importantly, assessed, as these are possible influencing factors in test performance. The participants completed several cognitive tasks; namely the Simon task, the Inhibition of return task, the Stroop task (inhibition) and the N-back task (working memory). The novel discovery of a trilingual (and bilingual) disadvantage was observed, which could explain some previous inconsistent findings in the bilingualism literature, where trilingualism may influence bilinguals’ test performance, as trilinguals and multilinguals are often mixed in with the bilingual group. Furthermore, the results suggest that second language acquisition and language use does not consistently predict performance in trilinguals (and bilinguals), nor does cognitive activity, although physical activity may modulate language group differences. Importantly, the results from this novel investigation of the effects of trilingualism and ageing on cognitive control suggest that trilingualism (and bilingualism) can, in some cases, be detrimental to cognitive control.

abstract: Restaurants have a cumulative impact on the environment, economy, and society. The majority of restaurants are small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Review of sustainability and industry literature revealed that considering restaurants as businesses with sustainable development options is the most appropriate way to evaluate their sustainable practices or lack thereof. Sustainable development is the means by which a company progresses towards achieving an identified set of sustainability goals and harnesses competitive advantage. The purpose of this thesis is to identify barriers to implementing sustainable practices in restaurants, and explore ways that restaurateurs can incorporate sustainable business practices. Energy consumption, water use, waste production, and food throughput are the four sustainability indicators addressed in this thesis. Interviews were conducted with five Tempe, Arizona restaurants, two of which consider their operations to be sustainable, and three of which are traditional restaurants. Results show that for traditional restaurants, the primary barriers to implementing sustainable business practices are cost, lack of awareness, and space. For sustainability-marketed restaurants, the barriers included a lack of knowledge or legal concerns. The sustainability-marketed restaurants have energy-efficient equipment and locally source a majority of their food purchases. There is a marked difference between the two types of restaurants in perception of barriers to sustainable business practices. I created a matrix to identify whether each indicator metric was applicable and present at a particular restaurant, and the potential barriers to implementing sustainable practices in each of the four indicator areas. Restaurants can use the assessment matrix to compare their current practices with sustainable practices and find ways to implement new or enhance existing sustainable practices. Identifying the barriers from within restaurants increases our understanding of the reasons why sustainable practices are not automatically adopted by SMEs. The assessment matrix can help restaurants overcome barriers to achieving sustainability by highlighting how to incorporate sustainable business practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Sustainability 2011

O presente trabalho analisou a propensão dos executivos do setor de papel para embalagem no Brasil à aplicação dos conceitos de Criação de Valor Compartilhado (CVC) como forma de aprimorar a vantagem competitiva das empresas do setor. O conceito de Valor compartilhado foi lançado por Porter e Kramer em 2011, através do artigo publicado na Harvard Business Review chamado de: A Grande Idea – Como consertar o capitalismo. De acordo com Porter e Kramer, o conceito de valor compartilhado redefine as fronteiras do capitalismo ao conectar melhor o sucesso da empresa com o progresso da sociedade, este conceito abre muitas maneiras de atender a novas necessidades, ganhar eficiência, criar diferenciação e expandir mercados, tornando-se mais competitiva. De acordo com os autores, se as empresas utilizarem as mesmas ferramentas que norteiam suas escolhas no core business para analisarem as oportunidades socioambientais, deixa de ser um custo ou filantropia para se tornar uma fonte de oportunidade e de vantagem competitiva (PORTER; KRAMER, 2011). Para a realização do trabalho, procedeu-se à revisão de literatura disponível sobre o tema CVC, sobre estratégia e competitividade, o que permitiu conhecer melhor os conceitos para que uma empresa possa coloca-los de fato em prática. Após a revisão da literatura, realizou-se a pesquisa de fontes secundárias, que utilizou dados coletados através de materiais internos e externos sobre o tema disponíveis no Brasil e no mundo, tais como: publicações de revistas, vídeos, apresentações em fóruns, artigos, dissertações e teses acadêmicas, publicações em sites e notícias vinculadas. Os dados secundários ajudaram a tangibilizar o conceito de CVC realizado na revisão literária, através de exemplos de empresas de classe mundial, que já estão aplicando e desenvolvendo projetos e iniciativas de CVC. A partir dos dados recolhidos através de entrevistas de profundidade com executivos e especialistas em sustentabilidade, verificou-se que o tema é pouco disseminado e, ainda, confundido com os conceitos de sustentabilidade, porém, indicam a propensão às práticas de CVC pelas empresas do setor. / The present work analyzed the application of the concepts of Creating Shared Value (CSV) by executives of the area of paper packaging in Brazil as a way to improve the competitive advantage of companies in the sector. The concept of Shared Value was devised by Porter and Kramer in 2011 through the Harvard Business Review article called "The Great Idea How to Fix Capitalism." According to Porter and Kramer, the concept of shared value redefines the boundaries of capitalism by better connecting the company's success with the progress of society, this concept opens up many ways to meet the new needs of this society, such as gaining efficiency, creating differentiation and expand markets, making it more competitive. According to the authors, if companies use the same tools that guide their choices in the core business to analyze socio-environmental opportunities, it is no longer a cost or philanthropy to become a source of opportunity and competitive advantage (PORTER, KRAMMER, 2011). In order to carry out the work, a review of available literature on the CSV topic on strategy and competitiveness was carried out, which allowed a better understanding of the concepts for a company to actually put into practice. After reviewing the literature, secondary sources were searched, using data collected through internal and external materials available in Brazil and in the world, such as: magazine publications, videos, presentations in forums, articles, dissertations and academic theses, publications on websites and related news. The secondary data helped to underpin the CSV concept addressed in the literary review, through examples of world-class companies that are already implementing and developing CSV projects and initiatives. Based on data collected through in-depth interviews with executives and sustainability experts, it was verified that the theme is poorly disseminated and also confused with the concepts of sustainability, but indicate the propensity to CSV practices by companies in the sector.

ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICES - A CASE STUDY OF CHOSEN ENTERPRISE. The comprehensive character of the services provided lies in the extensive range of products and possible combinations thereof. The analysis found that the company hasn't big problems. T-Mobile can have greater thrive yet. In comparison with Vodafone a.s. was sitting pretty.

The thesis investigates possible measures that should increase competitiveness. The company offers services in the field of sales of electronics, house hold items and drugstore goods. At the begining the company is presented, together with it's history, subject of trade as well as bussiness location. Furthermore I analyze the bussiness according to inner and outer environment. Measures leading to competitiveness increase are proposed based on the results of this analysis.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Heather R. Bailey / Bilingualism refers to an ability to speak two or more languages and the daily experience involved in coordinating these two languages can have a strong effect on bilinguals’ cognition. For decades, research strongly supported the idea of bilingual advantage; however, recent studies have found no bilingual advantage. Not surprisingly, such conflicting findings raised concerns about the validity of previous research as well as several other methodological issues. For instance, simple cognitive tasks like the Simon task are commonly used in bilingualism research, but they may not best capture bilinguals’ daily experience using the two languages. Bilinguals are constantly suppressing one language while engaged in other tasks, which is better captured by complex working memory (WM) tasks. Most importantly, previous work has not empirically evaluated the effects of language mode on bilinguals’ cognitive performance. Language mode refers to the state of activation of each language. Bilinguals may be in monolingual mode if only one of their languages is activated, whereas they may be in bilingual mode if both of their languages are activated. Previous work has proposed that language mode can have an effect on performance. Thus, the main objective of this dissertation was to evaluate the possible effects of bilingualism on complex WM performance while controlling for language mode and various demographic variables. The Pretest provided initial evidence that language mode affected performance on a simple cognitive task like MPWI. Therefore, a similar language mode manipulation was used in the Main study while testing performance on several complex WM tasks (CSPAN, OSPAN, and RotSpan) and the Simon task for monolinguals, bilinguals in bilingual mode, and bilinguals in monolingual mode. No significant differences were observed between all bilinguals and all monolinguals on any of the measures. However, significant differences were observed once language mode was accounted for. That is, bilingual participants in bilingual mode outperformed both bilingual participants in monolingual mode and monolingual participants on measures of complex WM. Further, there were no differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in monolingual mode. Thus, being in monolingual mode and fully suppressing one language may require more inhibition resources than bilingual mode in which both languages are active, and as a result, there may be fewer resources left to complete the complex WM span tasks. Importantly, the current work shed light on the hotly debated issue of the existence of a bilingual advantage by identifying a third variable that may explain the conflicting results in the literature. That is, no bilingual advantage was observed, but the current data provide evidence of a bilingual mode advantage.

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